We went to the beach again at 4pm (Vietnam time) today. This time, low-tide came earlier, so we went muuch further out of the restricted zone to swim. I must have gotton used to it as I didn't feel insecure though the floating buoys were not in front of me. Dad, Jean and I were more adventurous. Mom chose to stay at the edge of the restricted zone. She didn't want to let go of the rope and come over to the deeper section. Again, the usual throat and nose irritations kicked in. We had to spit in the water regularly to avoid the disgusting taste. Our noses also got irritated so we had to blow out the water through our nostrils frequently. It works better with mucus.
While we were swimming, we saw a yellow and black object bouncing up and down in the water. It looked vaguely familiar. When I took a closer look, I saw that my mother was doing jumping jacks in the water. Upon further questioning, she said she was trying to do some water aerobics. Keep fit, stay slim. So this is how it works. You bend your knees slightly, then you suddenly pop out of the water, pushing through the resistance and *splash*, you bounce back on the sea bed and repeat the above motion until your get tired or your legs give way.
After we finished floating around (trying to stay afloat), we went back to the shallow waters to collect clams. As usual, there were 2 women also collecting clams. We had to dig manually with our hands. And this is how the crab community got back at me for executing some of its members yesterday. While I was digging for clams, I suddenly pulled out what felt like a clam. However, as I pulled at it, it suddenly wriggled and something was tickling my finger. I suddenly realised it was a crab and squeezed it so hard until it nearly died. I then flinged it back on the sea bed. After that, I didn't quite dare to touch anything hard under water. Just as I regained my confidence, a fish bit me while I was digging for clams. So here's the summary. The jellyfish community forgave me. I'm thankful for that. But the crab village got angry and attacked me, jean and dad today. I think they were particularly angry at me and so they sent a fish to bite my finger. That rounds up the aquatic battlefield.
Now back to digging clams. My mother followed us to the shallow part. She didn't help us dig for clams. Instead, her head was seen bobbing up and down in the water. Upon further inspection, She was found to be doing push-ups. So much for water aerobics... I still wonder if it's effective.
We gave the 30+ clams we collected to one of the women collecting clams. She thanked us and came over to chat with us. She has 2 children, one 3 and the other 6 years old. She doesn't have enough money to send them to school yet. She was collecting clams to sell so that she could buy food to feed them. The amount of clams she collected each day usually sold for 20 000 VND (US$1). She would spend about 2-3 hours trying to earn that. She told my mother she was lucky. She said her husband had gone away. I don't know if she meant ran away or died. But whatever it was, her life is hard. I'm thinking, how does anyone support herself, her mother and 2 children with so little money? I admit I reflected on what I have - a stable home, food everyday, education, overseas trips... I'm thankful for what I have. I admit I had an urge to help her. So I am happy we gave her the clams, though it wasn't much.
We ate dinner at the restaurant we ate dinner at on Tuesday. The owners recognised us. They were happy we came back again. Then, they gave us the menus. They were in vietnamese, not english. *Busted!* They thought we were Vietnamese. So the restraunts really had 2 menus, one for locals and the other for tourists. The menu they gave us had no price list. I don't know which would have been riskier, this menu or the tuorist menu with high prices. Of course, we had to reveal our identity or we would never be able to order our food. Most of the time, conversations like ordering food etc. have what chinese say "bi shou hua jiao". Alot of actions. So hard to communicate. The food was very nice. It was also cheap. The owners were nice and decided not to charge us for a few dishes, so we let them keep the change. Before they gave the bill, I estimated a price about S$10 higher than the actual price.
We ate this interesting rice paper that was used to wrap around other food. Like the chinese "popiah". It felt like the manikin cover I used at school for the CPR thing (xin feng knows). It tastes like rice (obviously). It's like some plastic wrap. My sister liked it so much she saved 2 for eating while walking back to our resort.
On the way back, we had to navigate through the dark road. There was a lot of cow dung along the sidewalk. (Yes, they walk their cows around.) We had to avoid it and the minimal amount of street lights made our life harder. Halfway, we stopped to look at a social gathering in the town. We saw some people on stage, singing and playing instruments together. I'm not a singer, but I didn't quite like the music. Out of tune etc. But maybe it's intentional, so I may be wrong. Then, the woman whom we had a conversation with at the beach came to us. We had already established that she lived around that area. She was carring her 3 year old son. She asked us if we remembered her. My mother said yes. Frankly speaking, I didn't know who she was until 15 seconds later. We had a short conversation. We asked her what was going on here. So there we learnt that it was some social activity. The people are bored. Apart from their TV which doesn't have much shows, they have almost nothing else that's interesting. So these performances entertain them once in a while. Finally, we bid farewell and continued walking back to our resort.
And here I am now, in the business centre, typing this. I have to go in 7 mins before they lock this room. I'll sleep later tonight. (I hope my parents are not reading this, but I'll be staying up to watch discovery channel till I conk out.)
Tomorrow (Day 5): I'll go to the business centre again after breakfast. Then, we have to leave for the airport at around 9+ vietnam time to catch the plane at 10.25am. We should arrive in Singapore at 3.45pm. I will then unpack and use the computer to round up this whole trip. Photos will be put up within the next few days.
(section dedicated to Jie Ying: Keep guessing. Email me your questions. I will try to reply asap or you can ask if we meet online. I don't think you'll see this in time but I hope to meet you online tmr morning. around 8am for you. But it's alright if you can't. I'll be back tomorrow anyway.)
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